It’s no secret that many motorcycle accidents can result in serious injury or even death. However, many times a motorcycle accident is avoidable if drivers simply follow the law and honor their duty of reasonable care to others in or near a South Carolina roadway. Unfortunately for one motorcyclist in Oconee County, a driver’s apparent lack of understanding of one of these rules of the road caused him his life.

Before the accident, a motorcyclist had been riding ahead of a car on a highway. As the motorcyclist approached his destination, he slowed and gave a manual turn signal to the driver to indicate that he was turning to the left. However, the 18-year-old driver was said to have misunderstood this turn signal as an invitation to pass the motorcyclist, so he proceeded to speed up.

The teen driver struck the motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to crash into a guardrail. The motorcyclist died at the scene due to what was characterized as blunt-force trauma. He was not wearing a helmet, though there was no indication that a helmet would have saved his life. The highway patrol is continuing to investigate the accident.

Part of the driving test that every South Carolina resident is given before they are allowed to operate a motor vehicle is a section about manual turn signals. As the investigation moves forward, authorities may focus on the teenager’s actions in passing the motorcycle in the face of what has preliminarily been determined to be the victim’s hand signal to turn left. One issue may be the degree of caution, or lack of it, that the teen used in attempting to pass the motorcycle — no matter how he interpreted the hand signal.

The tragedy of this motorcycle accident was that it could have been completely avoided. Now, one man is dead as the result of this accident. As the family of the man grieves, they retain the right to turn to South Carolina courts to pursue a wrongful death claim based on allegations of negligence. In our state, a wrongful death is said to have occurred when someone is killed due to the negligent or intentional actions of another.

Source: Anderson Independent Mail, “Motorcyclist killed in Oconee accident,” Jennifer Crossley Howard, July 24, 2012

Badges

We help people like you every day.

---

GET HELP NOW!

• Your Name*
• Your Email*
• Phone
• Your Message*

Δ

HOURS & ADDRESS

• 207 E. Calhoun St. Anderson, SC 29621
• (864) 225-4000Local
• 864-844-4836 En Español
• Toll Free
• 864-964-0788 FAX

Office Hours

• Monday - Thursday9am - 3pmFridays - Closed

Steven M. Krause

Steven Krause is a personal injury, auto accident, and workers’ compensation lawyer who practices in Anderson, SC. He graduated form the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law and has been practicing law for 40 years now. Steven Krause believes in fighting for the injured. Learn more about his experience here.